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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| New website labels opponents of Crimean invasion as "traitors" |
| 2014-03-27 |
| In the background of a new website, a happy family, apparently in Crimea, looks on with pride at two Russian soldiers. In the foreground is a list of Russian journalists, activists and entertainers who are said to threaten the family's implied bliss following Russia's annexation of the peninsula. The website's preamble states, "We believe that Russian citizens who insult our soldiers and who cast doubt on the need to fight neo-Nazis are traitors." The site is the most recent incarnation of an effort by Kremlin supporters to expose the so-called fifth column of "national traitors" referred to by Vladimir Putin in a recent national address. Putin's rhetoric appears to be a signal that an enhanced crackdown is on the way, and it has sparked a mainstream intimidation campaign. Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Russia's newly reorganized information agency, Rossiya Segodnya, said, "The lists, in my opinion, are being created in Moscow, among the capital's intelligentsia -- the people who Putin just this Tuesday called a 'fifth column. In fact, Putin legalized that term [for use] in the political language of Russia. We know their names. We know how they wrote our names and sent them to these Western embassies." The call has been spreading on social media. Sergei Markov, an analyst with close ties to Moscow, used Facebook to share a list of 41 names and organizations that were said to support the Kyiv protesters. He called them, "Traitors to Russia!" The rhetoric seems to be part of a recent crackdown on Russian opposition and independent media. Cable operators have removed Dozhd TV, a popular liberal-leaning channel, and the station has been ordered to leave its building by June. The chief editor of a widely respected news website, Lenta.ru, was fired in early March and replaced by someone who had recently run a pro-Kremlin website. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 like attackwatch? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-03-27 14:33 |
| #1 Hey sign me up - I'm an opponent of Crimean invasion - I'll forward you my address and umm ... you and your Russia Today (Rossiya Segodnya) people won't mind meeting my friendly 2nd Amendment buddy, locked and loaded and ready for bear, when you show up now will you ? |
| Posted by: Jeatch B. Hayes3299 2014-03-27 00:57 |